Open Your Eyes To Love
by saragillie
Summary: Brennan voices some frustrations to Angela. See what happens when she actually takes Angela's advice.
1. Chapter 1

** AN: It's been a while since I posted anything and I'd hate for you to forget about me. ;-) This story is a two-shot songfic and my first songfic ever. The song is Open Your Eyes (To Love) by LNMT. I am working on the sequel to Wounded and Scarred. I finished writing chapter 6 today and I think I'm about half way done. I'll start posting it when it's done. In the mean time, I hope you enjoy this bit of fluff.**

The problem with men, Brennan thought, was that most of them seemed only interested in looks. She wasn't completely unaware of the effect she had on men, but once they learned how smart she was most of them turned tail and fled. The ones that weren't intimidated by her intelligence couldn't seem to handle her job. At first, they'd think it was exciting. Until she called letting them know she'd be late for a date and then showed up smelling a bit like the corpses she worked with, or when she had to leave in the middle of a date to examine some remains.

As she reflected she came to the conclusion that what she really wanted was someone who wasn't intimidated by her brilliance and who could handle her job. Unfortunately, that person didn't seem to exist, or if he did, she had yet to find him. Some men handled it better than others, but when her intimacy issues became apparent, nobody seemed to think she was worth the time and effort. It was disappointing really. She knew she could be hard to get along with and hard to understand, but there must be someone out there who would think she was worth the effort.

Brennan shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. 'I can't let a dry spell in my dating life distract me from work.' She bent back over the skeleton on the table in front of her. Soon Booth would be here and she needed to have something for him. She worked systematically through the rest of the bones.

When Booth arrived, she put down the bone she was reexamining and began briefing him. "Blunt force trauma to the tibia and fibula of both legs caused extensive fracturing. Blood pooling indicates the fractures were perimortem. There are kerf marks on T7, T8, and T9."

"So somebody whacked Sandra Keene in the shins with a bat, breaking both her legs, and then stabbed her in the back?" Booth asked.

"We haven't narrowed down the weapon used to break the victim's legs, but it could be something like a bat," Brennan said.

In her office, Angela was inputting the data Brennan had given her about the body in preparation for running some scenarios. The song on her jukebox changed and the words caught her attention. She switched programs to see what was playing: Open Your Eyes (To Love) by LMNT. She pulled the lyrics up on the Internet:

_You've been searching the world to find true love  
Looking in all the wrong places  
When all of the time you've been blind to love  
As plain as the nose on your faces_

_(Chorus)  
It's here, it's now. Open your eyes and see it.  
Right here, right now. Open your eyes to love._

You've been down on yourself thinking something's wrong  
Wondering why love has never found you  
Don't you know it's been right here all along  
If only you'd look around you

_It's here, it's now. Open your eyes and see it.  
Right here, right now. Open your eyes to love._

_(Bridge)  
Love has been right by your side oh so, close that you couldn't see.  
If love could speak it would shout to the sky, "I've always been here, I always will be."_

_I'm here, I'm now. Open your eyes and see.  
Right here, right now. Open your eyes to love._

_Open your eyes...  
Open your mind to love  
Open your heart to love. _

The song described Booth and Brennan so perfectly, but none of her subtle or less-than-subtle hints seemed to make any difference. She sighed, amazed at just how blind two people could be.

As if on cue, the voices of her favorite non-couple came floating through the door. 'Another argument,' she thought.

"Booth, I'm not finished examining Sandra Keene and you want to drag me out of the lab for another case?" she demanded in frustration. How were they supposed to solve existing cases when he was always dragging her out for new ones?

"Bones, you said you wanted full participation in the cases," he retorted. "You tried to blackmail me into it, as I recall. This is what full participation means. Get your kit and coat so we can get out of here."

He followed the command with his devilishly alluring charm smile and she found herself giving in. 'He can be so annoying. And I can't believe that smile of his still works on me. He could probably suggest we drown ourselves and if he smiled I'd go along! Argh.'

Brennan returned two hours later, told Zach that their latest remains should be arriving in about an hour, and went to her office. A few minutes later, Angela followed her.

"Hey, sweetie, I have the facial reconstruction done on Sandra Keene and I'm ready to run scenarios when you are," Angela said.

"Thanks, Ange," the anthropologist replied.

"I can't believe we have another new case," the artist said. "This makes four this week, right?"

"Yeah," Brennan answered tersely.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" Angela asked.

"The new case is a kid," she replied.

Knowing how they all felt about working with the remains on children, the artist decided to change the topic.

"So, how was your date with Steve last night?" she queried.

"What date?" Brennan answered almost bitterly. "He called and cancelled. I tried to reschedule but apparently he isn't interested."

"Um…" Angela wasn't sure exactly what to say.

"And why is it that I can't find a decent guy? I'm not looking for a long-term commitment, just somebody who will be around for more than two or three dates," complained the anthropologist.

"Did Steve say why?" the artist asked.

"Yeah. He muttered something about my job and partner under his breath, but I didn't quite catch it all," she said. "I don't think I'm that picky. I just want someone who isn't threatened by my intelligence and won't freak out about my job."

'This is the perfect opening,' Angela thought.

"Bren, you already have someone like that in your life," she said.

The anthropologist looked up hopefully. "I do?"

"Uh huh," Angela affirmed.

Brennan thought for a minute and then looked at Angela.

'How can she be so blind?' she thought.

"It's Booth," the artist answered.

"Ange, not that old saw again," the anthropologist objected.

"No, this time you're not getting away so easily," Angela said. "I don't understand why you refuse to consider him. He's intelligent and not intimidated by you, and he works the same cases you do. He meets your two criteria! In addition, he's your friend and he's consistently demonstrated that he cares about you. And the attraction between you is so strong that everyone notices it."

Brennan leaned back in her chair and listened thoughtfully. She couldn't deny any of the things her friend said.

Angela hesitated for a moment, uncertain about whether or not to say what she was thinking.

Her friend caught the pause and said, "And?"

"And I think you're in love with him already and you don't realize it," the artist finished.

"What!?!" Brennan exclaimed.

"Before you deny it, stop and think about it for a minute," Angela interrupted. "Or, pay attention to how you feel the next time he's around. Don't try and rationalize or deny it, just experience it."

"Like an experiment," she said thoughtfully.

"Exactly, sweetie," Angela responded. "It's one of the reasons those guys never stayed around. I think they sensed your heart was already spoken for."

Brennan, however, was still thinking about the experiment and hardly heard Angela's last statement. 'Could Ange be right? Am I really in love with him? I guess there's one way to find out.'


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed: Daisy190, Caravida, GGjunkie33, ElLivFan4Ever, future mrs. jim halpert, Serienjunkie 91, Celia Joy Booth, and CSI-4077. Special thanks to redrider6612 who helped me whip the end into shape. It wouldn't have been as fluffy without her. Hope you enjoy the rest.**

After two weeks of watching Brennan carefully and seeing no change in her behavior, Angela began to wonder if the conversation had been a daydream. She walked into work Thursday morning wondering dispiritedly if maybe she should give up on trying to get Booth and Brennan together.

Brennan darted out of her office when she saw Angela walk by. She grabbed her friend by the arm, pulled her into the office, and closed the door behind them.

"I did what you said," the anthropologist.

"Huh?" Angela said, confused. "And whatever happened to 'Good morning' or 'How are you?'"

"Oh right. Good morning, Angela. How are you?" Brennan asked.

The artist sighed. "Fine, sweetie. Now what were you saying?" she asked, despairing of getting her friend to remember the pleasantries.

"I did what you said," Brennan repeated.

"I tell you things all the time, Bren. Which particular set of advice are you talking about?" Angela asked.

"You know," Brennan paused, a bit embarrassed, "the experiment about Booth?"

"That was two weeks ago and you never said anything, so I figured that you'd decided not to do it," she said.

"Oh," the anthropologist said, momentarily surprised. "In order for an experiment to be successful, it must be repeatable. While this doesn't exactly meet the criteria of a true scientific experiment, multiple repetitions were necessary in order to successfully test the hypothesis."

Angela rolled her eyes. "How about skipping the details of however you designed the experiment and give me the results?"

"Ange, experiment design is critical for obtaining valid test results," Brennan objected.

"I agree, sweetie, but you're a good scientist so I'm sure you designed it well, which is why I don't need the details," replied the artist. "So, how about those results?"

Blushing a little, she answered, "Several times I deliberately told him where I would be, in case he wanted to hang out. Once he said he was busy, and I was disappointed. Twice he said he'd see me later and then he showed up later. The other two times, he didn't say anything and I spent time anticipating his arrival. The time he didn't come I was very disappointed and then I wondered what he was doing."

She paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I also cataloged other things. My heart rate increased by an average of twenty-five beats per second the first time I saw him during any particular encounter. Every time he called me Bones, I felt like smiling. He gave me two guy hugs and I didn't want him to let me go. Since you told me to just experience things, I realized a few things. Sometimes he makes me feel both happy and mad at the same time. When I'm near him I feel safe, even though sometimes being around him is dangerous, especially when we're chasing a suspect. Sometimes when he touches me, I can't seem to think straight and a couple times I was nervous about what he'd think when I told him something. A couple of times I knew when he entered a room before he said anything. Once I might have felt nauseated, but that could have been bad food."

'I doubt that. It was probably butterflies. I can't believe she can be this analytical about her feelings,' Angela groaned inwardly. Angela wasn't sure if allowing Brennan to stay in analytical mode was a good idea, but she responded best to logic.

Out loud she said, "So you analyzed your physical and emotional reactions. Have you come to any conclusions based on your findings?"

"I don't know," Brennan replied. "I don't recall ever having this same combination of reactions to another person. Booth is physically attractive, and anthropologically speaking, a good candidate for mating, but I'm not sure about being in love with him."

Trying a different approach Angela said, "Name a person you've been in love with."

"Um… I'm not sure," Brennan answered, unable to think of such a person. "I remember having crushes on guys when I was younger and I've found a number of men to be sexually appealing, but love?" She shrugged.

"So you could be in love, but might not recognize it, not having experienced it before?" the artist pushed her friend.

"I suppose so," she answered.

"Then take it from me. As someone who's been in love before, the way you described your reaction to Booth? That sounds similar to how I felt about Kirk and how I feel about Hodgins now. What you described are the symptoms of being in love, sweetie," Angela said with a huge smile.

A pensive look crossed Brennan's face as looked as she mentally debated whether or not to believe her friend. Angela had never lied to her, but she _was_ always trying to push the two of them together.

Her decision made, she asked, "I'm not sure if I'd call it being in love, but I definitely agree it's something. So what do I do?"

The artist bit back a squeal of victory and put her mental happy dance on hold to reply, "You've never wanted my advice on men before, sweetie."

"I know," Brennan said, "but this is Booth we're talking about and there's a lot more at stake."

"You're right. But there's also potential for this to be something so much more, so much better, than any other relationship you've had before. None of the guys you've ever dated have known you well. Booth already knows you and likes you. I think your partnership is a great foundation for a relationship between you two. You may not need a piece of paper to prove your commitment, but you do have to have someone to be committed to, and I think Booth could very well be that person," Angela answered soberly, still suppressing her inner glee.

The artist saw her friend's thoughtful expression and slipped quietly out of her office. She took a walk in the Jeffersonian's gardens where she let out her pleasure with a loud squeal and a happy dance around the fountain, attracting very odd looks from some of the tourists.

Later that morning, Booth strode into his partner's office flipping his lucky poker chip and whistling a jaunty tune. As usual, she was at her desk giving her keyboard a good workout. However, she normally scolded him about his whistling in her office, but today she didn't even seem to realize he was there.

"Hey, Bones," he said, trying to get her attention, "I came by for those files you told me were ready."

She stopped typing momentarily to point to a stack of files on the corner of her desk and then returned to whatever work was absorbing her attention. He grabbed the files and sat down on her couch to review them and sign on the appropriate lines. He pulled out the documents destined for the FBI and placed them in a separate folder.

When he was done, he returned the slimmer stack of files to the corner where he'd found them and said, "So, Bones, you wanna do lunch?"

"Hm…" she responded, inattentively.

For a moment, he thought about teasing her but then he had a better idea.

"Can I have a millions dollars?" he asked her slyly,

"Hm…" she replied the same as before, still typing furiously.

He tried again, "So, when are you going to let me read the lastest chapter of the new book you're writing?"

"Hm…" she started to say, and then midstream her brain processed the question. She looked up from her computer and fixed him with a stare.

"Booth!" she exclaimed. "You know I won't let you read it. You just have to wait for it to come out just like everyone else. About lunch, sure, and…"

Angela sailed into Brennan's office at that moment, thrust a drawing pad into the anthropologist's hands, and said, "I finished the face of our latest limbo case. I'm running it through the missing person's database now. Oh, and Zach wants to consult you about some bone anomaly. Hi, Booth."

Booth grinned and said to Brennan with a wink, "Well, now we know how long Angela can talk before she needs to take a breath."

Brennan glanced at the picture and said "Nice work" before standing up and moving toward the door.

"Oh, Booth," she said as she exited, "I forgot that I'd already made plans with Ange for lunch. And we can talk about the other question later."

Then she and Angela headed for the platform.

Booth stood rooted to the spot, momentarily stunned. 'She'd think about giving me a million dollars?'

Then he hurried after them. By the time he was a few steps from the stairs, the women were already on the platform.

Unable to contain his question any longer, he called out, "You'd seriously think about giving me a million dollars, Bones?"

She turned to look at him and answered, "If you had a good use for it? Sure. It's not like I'm using the money."

Their gazes caught and she couldn't look away. For some reason it suddenly became important that she decipher the expression in his eyes. She tuned everything else out and examined his face with the attention she usually saved for her bones. He stood stock still, under her weighty gaze, caught in her brilliant blue orbs. As her gaze lengthened from a few seconds into almost a minute, he began to blush at her intense scrutiny.

As though all the tumblers of a lock clicked into place, Temperance finally realized that Angela was right. She _was_ in love with him. What she had been looking for wasn't in his expression, but her heart.

Keeping her eyes locked on his, she walked toward the stairs.

"Dr. Brennan," Zach started to say, still wanting her to look at his bone anomaly.

Half a second after words began coming out Zach's mouth, Angela had her hand over it, shushing him in a firm whisper.

Brennan walked down the stairs and to her partner's side, unaware of the alarm sounding behind her. She slipped her hand around his arm, standing very close to him. He looked at her, a question in his eyes. She stretched up and brushed her lips against his. A flash of heat surged through him and he stared at her with wide eyes.

"Booth?" she said.

"Yeah?" he replied, dazed at her unexpected action.

"I love you," she confessed softly, before kissing him again.

She felt the surprise ripple through his body as his muscles tensed for a moment. Then she tugged on his arm gently, to pull him out of his daze. A small part of her brain was in shock at her boldness, but the rest of her sighed in satisfaction that she'd made her move.

As they walked slowly toward the exit he relaxed and she snuggled just a little bit closer. A few steps later he said, "I love you too, Bones." Then he pulled her into his arms for another longer kiss. And then after a pause, "So, lunch?"

"Yeah, I don't think Angela will mind being stood up," she answered with a smile that lit up her whole face.

Meanwhile, Angela listened carefully trying to hear as much of their conversation as possible. As soon as they were far enough away not to be disturbed by conversation, Angela took her hand away from Zach's mouth. He began to scold her about letting Dr. Brennan getting away, but Angela eyes were glued to the backs of the departing couple, a dreamy expression on her face. She was so glad that she hadn't given up.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Thanks for the reviews. And thanks to redrider6612 for keeping on the straight and narrow of comprehensible paragraphs. I couldn't do it without her. Here's a bit more fluff for you all to enjoy. For everyone waiting for a sequel to Wounded and Scarred, I'm still working on it. I think I'm a bit over half done and working out the details for the second part of the story.**

As they walked out of the Jeffersonian and to his car, Booth asked curiously, "So, what exactly happened back there?"

"I kissed you and told you I loved you," Brennan replied taking him literally.

"No, what I meant was 'why'?" he asked patiently.

"I would think that was obvious," she answered, looking at him askance. "Is something wrong?"

"No," he replied hastily. "I'm just trying to figure out what chain events lead you to those particular actions." Internally, he heaved a sigh of relief. 'That should get me a clear answer.'

"How about I tell you at lunch? I'm really hungry," she said, as they arrived at his vehicle.

He followed her as she moved between the cars toward the passenger side door. He placed his left hand on the car and reached around her with his right, effectively trapping her between his body and the SUV.

"Booth, I can get the door myself you know," she said, turning towards him.

Her eyes widened as she realized that he hadn't been trying to open her door. He gazed down at her for a moment, a small smile playing around his lips, and then he lowered his head slowly to capture her lips in a kiss. As he kissed her, he tried to pour all his emotions – his love, his admiration and respect for her, his passion, his pleasure that he was finally done waiting – into the kiss.

The feeling of his soft lips moving against hers was the most incredible thing Brennan had ever felt. Somehow the kiss was more than just a kiss. He made her feel cherished and safe in addition to the excitement that coursed through her body and left her feeling a bit trembly. Sometime during the kiss his arms had left the car and wound around her and she had snaked one hand up and around the back of his neck.

He turned his head slightly for better access to her mouth and she sighed in satisfaction. He took advantage of the moment and gently teased her tongue with his. She melted into him.

The need for air caused them to break apart eventually. For a moment they both sucked in deep draughts of air.

Then she smiled up at him and asked, "What was that for?"

When he looked at her questioningly she hurriedly added, "Not that I minded."

He smiled his charm smile at her and answered, "Because I wanted to and because I can." Then his lips and one eyebrow quirked and he continued, "Because you wanted me to."

She looked at him, trying to decide whether she should be annoyed at the size of his ego or amused at how well he managed to read her. While she was trying to make up her mind, he opened the door and ushered his speechless partner into the vehicle and then pointed the car in the direction of Wong Fu's.

The moment they walked into the restaurant, Sid said "Well, it's about time!" in a satisfied tone.

They looked at each other and then at him. 'The dumbfounded expression on their faces is almost comical,' he smirked to himself.

"Are you sure you're not psychic?" Booth asked.

"Booth, there's no scientific evidence supporting the existence of phenomena like ESP," Brennan lectured.

"I didn't have to use my special powers," Sid said with a wink. "Besides the happy glow on your faces, you are holding hands," he continued dryly.

He ushered them to an isolated table set in an alcove at the front of the restaurant. He adjusted the shades to prevent the sun from shining in their eyes and said, "I'll be back with your food in a minute."

When Booth slipped his hand onto Brennan's thigh underneath the table, she jumped and looked at him in surprise.

There was a serious expression in his eyes as he told her softly, "You're mine."

"You know I would like to have one – just one – conversation with you where your alpha male tendencies aren't front and center," she exclaimed in annoyance. "Besides, one person cannot own another, regardless of the arguments that those in favor of slavery used to make."

"Bones, I didn't mean it that way," Booth protested. "Besides you're exaggerating. What I meant was that I choose you. When we first became partners, I protected you because it was part of my job, but after a while I did it because I wanted to, not because I had to. After a while, I chose you to be my friend, and later, part of my family. I just thought you should know… I choose you."

He watched her carefully for a reaction and noticed a sheen of tears in her eyes. For her part, the anthropologist in Brennan was a bit outraged by his possessiveness, but the greatest part of her – the woman trying to cope with her abandonment as a child – was overwhelmed with emotion.

She was trying to figure out what to say in response when Sid returned and rescued her. He placed a candle on their table and lit it. Then he returned with a single large plate.

At Booth's questioning glance, he announced, "You two are always eating off each other's plates anyway, so I figured one large plate was good enough. And it will mean fewer dishes."

He laughed at their identical expressions of disbelief before asking, "So, how did this happen?"

"I don't know," Booth answered. "She kissed me half an hour ago and told me she loved me. I'm still waiting for her half of the story."

"Okay, well, I'll leave you two lovebirds to your lunch," Sid said.

While Booth was talking to Sid, Brennan had started eating.

"Wow, Bones. You weren't joking when you said you were hungry," he commented. "Save a little for me, okay? And I really want to hear your side of the story."

She speared a piece of chicken with her fork, chewed and swallowed it before answering. "Well, Angela told me I was in love you and she was right." She paused before continuing thoughtfully, "She also told me you were in love with me and she appears to have been right about that as well."

"Wait," Booth exclaimed, "she told you that and you just believed her? After all the time she's spent trying to get us together?"

"Um, not exactly," Brennan replied. "I told her the results of my experiment and…"

"You did an experiment on me?" Booth demanded, interrupting her. The idea of being the subject of an experiment and not knowing it was a bit unsettling.

"Um… not on you exactly. It was more on me," she replied. "And it didn't really meet the qualifications of a true experiment. You were more of a constant… no, that's not right. But you weren't a variable either."

At Booth's confused expression, she gave a self-conscious laugh and said, "I'm not explaining it very well, am I?"

"Nope," Booth answered, shaking his head. "Why don't you begin at the beginning?"

"I can do that," she replied confidently. "You remember a couple of weeks ago when I told you Steve cancelled our date?"

He nodded, unsure what Steve had to do with this, containing his frustration that she was bringing another guy into the conversation.

"Well, the morning after he cancelled, I did something a typical woman does. I complained to my girlfriend about it."

He snickered at the small jibe she was getting in and winked at her. His colleagues were always telling him that she was weird and strange, and a few had been rude enough to say it to her face.

"I told Angela that all I really wanted was a guy who could handle my job and would stay around for more than a few dates. And she said that I already had that in you and that the reason none of the other guys stayed around was because they realized I was in love with you. I didn't believe her, so she told me I should do an experiment – pay attention to how I felt when you were around. I told her the results this morning and she said that was how she felt when she first started dating Hodgins."

She paused to take another bite of food. "That's what I was thinking about when you walked in to my office. I still wasn't sure whether or not to believe her. But when I was on the platform and turned to look at you, all of a sudden it clicked."

She smiled fondly at him and then leaned over to kiss his cheek before looking at the plate. It was empty.

"Booth! I only had like two bites of that, and I told you I was really hungry," she scolded him.

Sid arrived and placed another plate of food in front of Brennan.

She thanked him and told him firmly, "I don't think that us sharing a plate is such a great idea. Booth ate all but two bites of it. Next time I want my own plate."

Instead of being repentant as she'd hoped, Booth laughed and said, "Hey, I was hungry too."

"But that doesn't give you the right to distract me from our food and then eat it all while I'm not looking," she argued around a bite of her food.

"It's not my fault you were distracted," he countered.

"Oh yes it is," she fired back. "You were the one who insisted on hearing the story right away, even though I told you I was hungry."

"Hey, I can't help it if you can't multi-task," he protested.

"Oh, you… " she spluttered in frustration before eating another bite.

She slapped away the hand that had slowly begun to inch its way up her thigh. "See you're doing it again! Trying to distract me. And you can't claim to be hungry now after you ate that whole plate of food," she proclaimed triumphantly, knowing she had won the argument.

Booth simply smiled and nodded. She might have won the argument, but he had gained something so much better. Her eyes were finally open to what they could be and he wasn't going to miss a minute of it. He'd win another argument some other day.

He made a mental note to send Angela some flowers; after all, she had played an important role making this happen.


End file.
